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Feel like you’re on house arrest? Here’s how to stay sane and productive while you’re home.

At this point much of the country is adhering to “stay-at-home” policies. For some small businesses, this might be your first time operating as a virtual business. Our friends at Fundbox have compiled some tips for remote working.

Work/Life separation

Find your workplace: One of the main things about being remote people quickly notice—you have to force yourself to separate work life and home life.

If you have a spare room, make that your office. Do not work from the couch! Schedule your working day with clear start/stop hours and try to commit to them.

Take breaks

Make sure you take breaks. Stretch your legs, go outside for a little bit (maintain your social distance) and see the sun. Many experts recommend you take at least a five-minute break every hour.

Be social

Don’t forget this part. Whether it’s with your team, your family or friends, you need to have some social interaction. Some companies [hold] social zoom calls for 5-15 minutes that are not about work. This is a big part of what’s missing when working from home, and it’s an important part of being in the office so don’t forget it.

Getting context is key

Knowing what’s going on is especially hard if you’re working remotely. You  will need to take n the responsibility of identifying the water-cooler context and pulling it down into written form. You’ll find t it’s equally effective at identifying and bridging silos of communication as it is connecting remote employees with office culture.

Remote meetings

There will most likely be fewer meetings (a good thing!) if you’re working remotely, but there will still be some. Someone should take notes and share them with the team.

Your scheduled meetings will most likely proceed as usual. Be sure to prepare about five minutes before you start, check your setup, microphone, webcam, and internet connection so the meeting will start on time.

Be responsive

It’s important to be very responsive during work hours. Even saying “I’ll get back to you in 15 minutes” is more helpful than not replying for a few hours.

 

Home office stock photo by G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock